Potential for acceleration of bone formation after implant surgery by using a dietary supplement: an animal study.

Dental implant treatment is an effective modality to restore lost aesthetic and masticatory functions. However, healing after implant surgery takes at least 3-6 months. This prolonged healing period poses several difficulties for individuals with a large edentulous area and decreases their quality of life. Consequently, shortening the healing period and accelerating final prosthesis placement after surgery is very clinically important. Peri-implant bone formation may be enhanced by systemic approaches, such as the use of osteoporosis supplements, to promote bone metabolism. To confirm whether intake of a supplement developed for osteoporosis, synthetic bone mineral (SBM), was effective in accelerating peri-implant bone formation as part of the healing process after implantation. Twenty-four 5-week-old female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to receive a standardised diet without (control group, n = 12) or with SBM (n = 12). The rats had implant surgery at 8 weeks of age under general anaesthesia. The main outcome measures were bone mineral density (BMD) and pull-out strength in the implant and femur, which were compared between the groups at 2 and 4 weeks after implantation using the Mann-Whitney U test. BMD was significantly greater in the SBM group at 2 and 4 weeks after implantation compared to the control group. Pull-out strength was significantly greater in the SBM groups at 2 and 4 weeks after implantation compared to the control group. This study demonstrated that SBM could be effective in accelerating peri-implant bone formation during the healing period after implantation.

Lactobacillus gasseri requires peptides, not proteins or free amino acids, for growth in milk.

Lactobacillus gasseri is a widespread commensal lactic acid bacterium inhabiting human mucosal niches and has many beneficial effects as a probiotic. However, L. gasseri is difficult to grow in milk, which hurts usability for the food industry. It had been previously reported that supplementation with yeast extract or proteose peptone, including peptides, enables L. gasseri to grow well in milk. In this study, our objective was to confirm peptide requirement of L. gasseri and evaluate efficacy of peptide release by enzymatic proteolysis on growth of L. gassei in milk. Three strains of L. gasseri did not grow well in modified DeMan, Rogosa, Sharpe broth without any nitrogen sources (MRS-N), but addition of a casein-derived peptide mixture, tryptone, promoted growth. In contrast, little effect was observed after adding casein or a casein-derived amino acid mixture, casamino acids. These results indicate that L. gasseri requires peptides, not proteins or free amino acids, among milk-derived nitrogen sources for growth. Lactobacillus gasseri JCM 1131T hardly had growth capacity in 6 kinds of milk-based media: bovine milk, human milk, skim milk, cheese whey, modified MRS-N (MRSL-N) supplemented with acid whey, and MRSL-N supplemented with casein. Moreover, treatment with digestive proteases, particularly pepsin, to release peptides made it grow well in each milk-based medium. The pepsin treatment was the most effective for growth of strain JCM 1131T in skim milk among the tested food-grade proteases such as trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, calf rennet, ficin, bromelain, and papain. As well as strain JCM 1131T, pepsinolysis of milk improved growth of other L. gasseri strains and some strains of enteric lactobacilli such as Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Lactobacillus reuteri. These results suggest that some relatives of L. gasseri also use peptides as desirable nitrogen sources, and that milk may be a good supplier of nutritious peptides to enteric lactobacilli including L. gasseri after peptic digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. This is the first report showing peptide requirement of L. gasseri and efficacy of pepsinolysis on the growth of L. gasseri and its relatives in milk. This study would contribute to increasing usability of L. gasseri and its relatives as probiotics in dairy foods.

beta-Glucosidase inhibitory activities of phenylpropanoid glycosides, vanicoside A and B from Polygonum sachalinense rhizome.

The phenylpropanoid glycosides, vanicoside A and B, isolated from rhizomes of giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) showed beta-glucosidase inhibitory activity, with IC(50) values of 59.8 and 48.3 mug/ml (59.9 and 50.5 muM), respectively. In contrast, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, corresponding to phenylpropanoyl moieties of vanicosides, exhibited very little inhibition.

1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging active compounds from greater cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.).

Constituents of the fruits of greater cardamom (Amomum subulatum) were fractionated into three fractions, the dichloromethane extract, and the ethyl acetate-soluble and water-soluble fractions of the 70% aqueous acetone extract. The ethyl acetate-soluble fraction showed a high radical-scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Four compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction, and their structures were ascribed to protocatechualdehyde (1), protocatechuic acid (2), 1,7-bis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)hepta-4E,6E-dien-3-one (3) and 2,3,7-trihydroxy-5-(3,4-dihydroxy-E-styryl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-benzocycloheptene (4) on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. This is the first isolation of these compounds from greater cardamom. In particular, 4 was a new type of cyclic diarylheptanoid. DPPH radical-scavenging activity of these compounds was measured by colorimetric analysis. Compounds 1 and 3 showed stronger activity than such natural antioxidants as alpha-tocopherol and L-ascorbic acid. Compounds 2 and 4 were comparable to alpha-tocopherol and L-ascorbic acid.

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity and mRNA expression in advanced gastric cancer analyzed in relation to effectiveness of preoperative 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

Dihydroxypyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is an enzyme involved in degradation and inactivation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The amount of its expression in a tumor is thought to be a factor determining the response of the tumor to 5-FU therapy. We compared DPD activity and DPD mRNA expression in resected tumors between two groups of patients, i.e., a group of 14 patients with advanced gastric cancer who received preoperative chemotherapy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy; NAC) and surgery and a group of 24 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent surgery without preoperative chemotherapy. Tumor DPD activity was found to correlate well with tumor DPD mRNA expression. In the surgery alone group, DPD activity decreased significantly as the tumor stage advanced. This change was not observed in the NAC plus surgery group. Neither tumor depth (T factor) nor lymph node metastasis was found to correlate with DPD activity. Patients who responded to preoperative chemotherapy had lower DPD mRNA levels. Based on these results, we anticipate that measurement of DPD expression in clinical specimens may be clinically useful in managing advanced gastric cancer.

Vitamin E level changes in serum and red blood cells due to acute exhaustive exercise in collegiate women.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in vitamin E level in both serum and red blood cells (RBC) during exercise and to clarify the effect of vitamin E supplementation. Ten young sedentary female subjects received 200 mg D-alpha-tocopherol acetate daily for 1 wk after the initial exercise bout. After 1 wk of vitamin E supplementation, the same subjects repeated the same exercise. Before vitamin E supplementation, the alpha-tocopherol level in the serum (serum-alpha-tocopherol) did not change after exercise, but a significant decrease in the alpha-tocopherol level in RBC (RBC-alpha-tocopherol) was observed after exercise (p < 0.05). On the other hand, after vitamin E supplementation, the serum-alpha-tocopherol level decreased significantly after exercise (p < 0.05), while the RBC-alpha-tocopherol level was maintained after exercise. Furthermore, a negative correlation between the changes in serum- and RBC-alpha-tocopherol levels was observed only after vitamin E supplementation (r = 0.667, p < 0.05). The present results suggest that as RBC suffers oxidative stress, vitamin E in RBC is consumed to protect RBC from oxidative damage during exercise. These results also suggest that when there is a sufficient amount of vitamin E in the serum, vitamin E is shifted from the serum to RBC, resulting in a steady RBC-alpha-tocopherol level and a decrease in the serum-alpha-tocopherol level under oxidative stress such as exercise.

Resveratrol attenuates ovariectomy-induced hypertension and bone loss in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We examined the effect of resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy stilbene), a phenolic compound found in the skins of most grapes, on blood pressure and bone loss in ovariectomized (OVX), stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). Nineteen-week-old female SHRSP were divided into a sham-ovariectomized (sham) group fed a control diet and two OVX groups fed either a control diet (OVX-Cont) or a diet supplemented with resveratrol (5 mg/kg per d; OVX-Resv). Ovariectomy induced significant increases in systolic blood pressure (SBP). Resveratrol lowered the SBP by 15%) by the third week of administration, and this effect was maintained throughout the study. Resveratrol treatment also significantly enhanced endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in response to acetylcholine (ACh) in OVX rats. Finally, femur breaking energies measured for the resveratrol-treated (OVX-Resv) group were significantly higher than those of the resveratrol-untreated (OVX-Cont) group. While no significant differences in calcium, magnesium and phosphorus content were found between the femurs of OVX-Cont and OVX-Resv rats, the femur hydroxyproline content in the OVX-Resv group was significantly higher than of the OVX-Cont group. We conclude that, in OVX-SHRSP, resveratrol acts by a similar mechanism to mammalian estrogens, lowering blood pressure by increasing dilatory responses to ACh. The present study also demonstrated that resveratrol was able to prevent ovariectomy-induced decreases in femoral bone strength.

Does edema formation occur in the rabbit brain exposed to head-down tilt?

Earlier studies showed that exposure to microgravity caused cephalad fluid shift, increased capillary pressure in the head, and produced facial edema and nasal congestion. In the present study, edema formation in the brain was investigated in rabbits exposed to simulated microgravity, head-down tilt (HDT), by measuring water content and histological examinations. Water content in the brain tissues of rabbits exposed to 2 and 8 days of HDT did not increase significantly compared with that of control animals. Neither vital staining using Evans blue nor immunohistochemical examination demonstrated extravasation of plasma constituents in the brain tissues of the HDT rabbits. Although marked congestion was noted in the brain, hematoxylin and eosin staining did not show edematous changes, such as distension of the perivascular and pericellular spaces and vacuolar appearance, in the tissues obtained from HDT rabbits. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that tight junctions of the capillary endothelium were intact in the HDT rabbits. These results suggest that either HDT up to 8 days does not cause brain edema in rabbits or it induces only a slight brain edema which is hard to be demonstrated by measurement of water content or histological examinations.

Vitamin E supplementation and endurance exercise: are there benefits?

It has been widely noted that vitamin E shows numerous beneficial effects through and beyond its antioxidative properties; consequently, vitamin E is expected to prevent degenerative diseases. In the field of sports medicine, many studies dealing with vitamin E have been conducted originally from the point of view of its effects on physical performance. Although some earlier studies indicated that vitamin E supplementation could improve physical performance, defects in the study design or statistical analysis were pointed out at a later time. The majority of subsequent well controlled studies have reported no significant effect on physical performance from vitamin E supplementation. Recent studies suggest that endurance exercise may promote free radical generation in the body, and vitamin E may play an important role in preventing the free radical damage associated with endurance exercise. Although there is evidence of free radical involvement in exercise-induced muscle injury, vitamin E supplementation might not be expected to prevent muscle damage caused by exercise in humans without a vitamin E deficiency. Since it is still unclear whether exercise induces lipid peroxidation in the human body, the beneficial effect of vitamin E supplementation on exercise-induced lipid peroxidation has not yet been established. However, it is proposed that as a result of exercise vitamin E may be mobilised from store tissues and redistributed in the body to prevent oxidative damage. Therefore, we are convinced that vitamin E contributes to preventing exercise-induced lipid peroxidation. It has also been indicated that strenuous endurance exercise may enhance the production of oxidised low density lipoprotein (LDL), which plays a key role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. It is also suggested that this enhanced production of oxidised LDL could be reduced if a higher vitamin E status is maintained. Supplementation with 100 to 200mg of vitamin E daily can be recommended for all endurance athletes to prevent exercise-induced oxidative damage and to reap the full health benefits of exercise.

Extract of wine phenolics improves aortic biomechanical properties in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP).

We studied the effect of the extract of wine phenolics (EWP) on blood pressure, vasorelaxing activity and aortic biomechanical properties in stroke-prone hypertensive rats (SHRSP). Thirty-six 4-week-old male SHRSP/Izm rats were divided into 6 equal groups fed one of the following 6 diets: A control diet (plain laboratory diet), the control diet substituted with 0.5 or 1.0% polyphenolic compounds derived from the extract of apple phenolics (EAP), the control diet substituted with 0.5 or 1.0% polyphenolic compounds derived from the extract of tea phenolics (ETP), or the control diet along with drinking water containing 1.0% polyphenolic compounds derived from EWP. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body weight (BW) were checked once a week. At the end of the 8th week of feeding, all of the rats were sacrificed and the heart weight and aortic biomechanical properties were measured. The relaxation effect of the addition of EWP on endothelium-intact aortic rings precontracted with prostaglandin (PG) F2 alpha was also measured. Only EWP, not EAP or ETP, significantly lowered the SBP values a compared with the control group at the 4th, 7th and 8th weeks of feeding (p < 0.05). The heart weight and ventricular weight, expressed as the percentage of BW, were significantly lower in the EWP group than in the control group (p < 0.05). The aortic maximum stress was significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the aortic incremental elastic modulus was significantly reduced (meaning higher elasticity) (p < 0.001) in the EWP group as compared with the control group. The aortic rings showed concentration-dependent relaxation induced by EWP, and the relaxation was significantly greater than that induced by a commercial red wine preparation. In conclusion, EWP attenuated the elevation of blood pressure in SHRSP possibly by increasing the vasorelaxation activity. The aortic fragility and elasticity were also improved in EWP-fed SHRSP.

Chemical characterisation of six oligosaccharides in a sample of colostrum of the brown capuchin, Cebus apella (Cebidae: primates).

Carbohydrates were extracted from a sample of brown capuchin colostrum and six of the component oligosaccharides were separated and purified by gel filtration and preparative thin layer chromatography. Their structures were determined by 1H-NMR to be as follows: Gal beta 1-->4[Fuc alpha 1-->3]Glc (3-fucosyllactose) Gal beta 1-->3Gal beta 1-->4Glc (beta-3'-galactosyllactose) Gal beta 1-->6Gal beta1-->4Glc (beta-6'-galactosyllactose) Gal beta-->3[Gal beta 1-->4GlcNAc beta 1-->6]Gal beta 1-->4Glc (lacto-N-novopentaose I) Gal beta 1-->4GlcNAc beta 1-->3[Gal beta 1-->4GlcNAc beta 1-->6]Gal beta 1-->4Glc (lacto-N-neohexaose) Neu5Ac alpha 2-->3Gal beta 1-->4Glc (3'-N-acetylneuraminyllactose) Of these, all except lacto-N-novopentaose I have been previously found in human milk or colostrum.

N-acetylcysteine improves cytotoxic activity of cirrhotic rat liver-associated mononuclear cells.

Liver cirrhosis, which is associated with decreased plasma and hepatic glutathione (GSH), has been reported to cause the suppression of NK activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Since low GSH levels in lymphocytes are known to alter lymphocyte function, we examined the correlation between intracellular GSH levels and the cytotoxic activity of liver-associated mononuclear cells (liver MNC). We show here that rat liver contains a highly active population of NK cells (CD3- NKR-P1 + cells) that kill Yac-1 in vitro and that the cytotoxic activity of this NK population is directly proportional to liver MNC GSH. This proportionality is independent of the methods used to alter GSH level. Thus, in vitro treatment of liver MNC with buthionine sulfoximine to lower GSH levels lowers the cytotoxic activity. MNC from cirrhotic liver, in which implanted tumor cells grow faster, have both low GSH levels and low cytotoxicity, and supplementation of cirrhotic liver MNC with N-acetylcysteine raises GSH levels and increases cytotoxicity. These findings suggest a physiologic mechanism, i.e. decreased GSH, may be causally associated with the increased incidence of hepatoma in cirrhotic individuals and the increased growth of hepatoma cells in cirrhotic animals. Thus, we suggest that the GSH is important to the optimal functioning of the hepatic immunity that protects against hepatoma development.

Resveratrol stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells.

Nutritional and pharmacological factors are needed to prevent bone loss that occurs with increasing age. The chemical compounds that act on bone metabolism as nutrients in food, however, are poorly understood. The effect of resveratrol, a natural phytoestrogen, on the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells was studied. Resveratrol dose-dependently increased DNA synthesis (10(-9)-10(-7) M) of MC3T3-E1 cells. In addition, resveratrol increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and prolyl hydroxylase activity of MC3T3-E1 cells (10(-6)-10(-5) M). Moreover, the antiestrogen tamoxifen eliminated the stimulation of MC3T3-E1 cells on the proliferation and ALP activity by resveratrol. On the other hand, resveratrol inhibited prostaglandin E2 production in MC3T3-E1 cells (10(-8)-10(-6) M). Our present study is the first to demonstrate that resveratrol directly stimulates cell proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.

O2-sensitive K+ current in undifferentiated and NGF-treated PC12 cell variants.

It has been reported that cultured PC12 cells can be used as a model for studying mechanisms of O2 sensitivity, previously examined in peripheral chemoreceptors and some neurons. This study compared the hypoxic depression of K+ currents in two PC12 variants, before and after differentiation into neurone-like cells induced by nerve growth factor (NGF). The results show that interaction of O2 and K+ channels is strongly-voltage dependent in the PC12/TM but not the PC12/ES subline. In PC12/TM cells an effect of hypoxia on the K+ current was appreciable only at moderately depolarized voltages, with a loss of sensitivity at +40 to +50 mV. NGF-induced transformation did not affect the responses seen in undifferentiated cells. These results emphasize the importance of screening PC12 cells before selecting a variant for studying O2 sensitivity. In view of evidence cited in the literature that hypoxia may effect membrane channels directly, further molecular and biophysical studies of the differences among PC12 variants are required.

Protective effects of Wen-Pi-Tang against cultured renal epithelial cellular injury.

A study was conducted to clarify whether extracts of Wen-Pi-Tang and its component crude drugs ameliorate renal cellular injury by assaying lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde leakage from LLC-PK(1) cells in culture. The cells were cultured with various concentrations of the samples under two sets of conditions: routine and hypoxia-reoxygenation. The results demonstrated that Wen-Pi-Tang, Rhei rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae radix exerted marked protective effects on the cells; Ginseng radix showed moderate activity, whereas Zingiberis rhizoma and Aconiti tuber had virtually no such effect. Two pure compounds, epicatechin 3-O-gallate and licochalcone A isolated from Rhei rhizoma and Glycyrrhizae radix, respectively, exerted the same marked effects as the parent crude drugs. In the light of these findings, we concluded that Wen-Pi-Tang and its major components protect renal epithelial cells against injury mediated by hypoxia-reoxygenation and/or prevent such injury. The primary mechanism of these effects appeared to be antilipid peroxidant activity present in the preparation.

Feeding rats the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-N(omega)nitroarginine, elevates serum triglyceride and cholesterol and lowers hepatic fatty acid oxidation.

This study was conducted to examine whether nitric oxide regulates lipid metabolism. In Experiment 1, rats were fed for 5 wk diets with or without 0.2 g/kg L-N-nitroarginine (L-NNA), a specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, that were or were not supplemented with 40 g/kg L-arginine. Rats fed L-NNA had significantly higher concentrations of serum triglyceride and total cholesterol, lower concentrations of serum nitrate, and a lower ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol than rats fed the basal diet. These alterations were suppressed by supplementing L-arginine to the L-NNA-containing diet. In Experiment 2, rats were fed diets with or without 0.2 g/kg L-NNA. Dietary L-NNA elevated serum concentrations of free fatty acids without affecting those of ketone bodies. L-NNA lowered the activity of hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase, the rate-limiting enzyme of fatty acid oxidation, but did not affect activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthase which are lipogenic enzymes. These results suggest that the lower nitric oxide level in rats fed L-NNA leads to hyperlipidemia and that the elevation in serum triglyceride might be due to reduced fatty acid oxidation.

Effect of FR133605, a novel cytokine suppressive agent, on bone and cartilage destruction in adjuvant arthritic rats.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effect of FR133605, a novel inhibitor of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), on bone and cartilage destruction in adjuvant arthritic rats and compared it to corticosteroid, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), and disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD). METHODS: The antiinflammatory responses were evaluated by measurement of hind paw swelling, body weight, femoral bone mineral density, and glycosaminoglycan content (GAG) in femoral condyles in adjuvant arthritic rats. RESULTS: FR133605 inhibited IL-1 and TNF-alpha production stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human monocytes. FR133605 also inhibited serum IL-1 and TNF-alpha concentrations in LPS treated mice. In contrast, among comparison antirheumatic drugs, only corticosteroid inhibited production at nontoxic concentrations. In adjuvant arthritis, FR133605 significantly inhibited paw swelling, bone and cartilage destruction, and increased body weight. On the other hand, indomethacin significantly inhibited paw swelling, but not bone and cartilage loss. Dexamethasone completely inhibited paw swelling and bone loss, but augmented cartilage breakdown. DMARD weakly restored the loss of GAG contents in articular cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: FR133605 improved bone loss and articular cartilage destruction in adjuvant arthritic rats and the inhibitory effect was closely correlated with the suppressive activity of IL-1 and TNF-alpha production.

[Efficacy of 48-hour infusion of 5-fluorouracil for gall bladder cancer].

Usefulness of an adjuvant chemotherapy for 23 patients who had undergone "non-curative" resection for adenocarcinomas of the gallbladder was investigated. Patients were divided into two groups: Group A (16 patients) was given MF (mitomycin C 6 mg/m2, 5-fluorouracil 250 mg/body) by injection on the 2nd and 9th postoperative day and received orally Tegafur 600 mg/day and PSK 3 g/day. Group B(7 patients) was treated weekly with a 48-hour infusion of 5-FU (1,000 mg/m2/24 hours), for 6 weeks and leucovorin (30 mg/body) was given for 2 hours prior to 5-FU infusion. The results were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Response rate of anti-tumor was 0% in Group A and 14.3% in Group B, including: PR, 1 and NC, 6 cases. The 50% survival time was 230 days in group A and 471 days in group B (p = 0.0008). The results suggest that treatment with 5-FU and LV is effective for gallbladder cancer.

[Relationships between the pollen productions in sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) forests and the patterns of atmospheric scattering pollens in Toyama Prefecture--the example of Toyama Prefecture in 1990].

We investigated the geographical distribution of sugi (Cryptomeria Japonica D. Don) forests and the male flower-setting conditions of them in Toyama prefecture. The relationships between our findings and the atmospheric pollen scattering patterns were also studied. The results were as follows. 1. Atmospheric pollen counts and their scattering patterns were fairly easily explained by the geographical distribution of 30-year old sugi forests, the male flower-setting conditions and the first day pollen was scattered in those forests. 2. Total atmospheric counts and maximum sugi pollen peaks were significantly affected by the proximity of sugi forests at altitudes of less than 200 meter. 3. In the atmospheric pollen survey, the detected pollen counts decreased according to the distance between the observation sites and the sugi forests. And few pollen grains were observed from natural sugi forests growing at distances of 20 km to 30 km from the observation sites.

Ornithine-containing lipids of some Pseudomonas species.

Ornithine-containing lipids purified by thin-layer chromatography were found to represent 2-15% of the total extractable cellular lipids in two or three strains each of four Pseudomonas species: P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescens, P. stutzeri and P. cepacia. The structures of the ornithine-containing lipids were elucidated by chemical analysis, thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (electron impact or secondary ion) and infrared absorption spectroscopy. At least six molecular species of ornithine-containing lipids were present in common in all of the preparations of the four Pseudomonas species. The structure which was the most abundantly in P. fluorescens (about 60% of the total amount of the ornithine-containing lipid) was 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid amide-linked to ornithine and esterified to hexadecanoic acid. In addition to this structure, 3-hydroxyoctadecenoic acid amide-linked to ornithine and esterified to hexadecanoic acid was a dominant structure in the ornithine-containing lipids of P. aeruginosa, P. stutzeri or P. cepacia. In P. cepacia, another ornithine-containing lipids with a terminal polar fatty acid, 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid amide-linked to ornithine and esterified to 2-hydroxynonadecacyclopropanoic acid or 2-hydroxyoctadecenoic acid, was found; its content, which represented 8-11% of the total extractable cellular lipids, was higher than that of the ornithine-containing lipids with a terminal nonpolar fatty acid. These ornithine-containing lipids exhibited hemagglutinating activity. Additionally, it was very interesting that hydroxy fatty acids included in the ornithine-containing lipids were not found in the phospholipids which represented more than 80% of the total extractable cellular lipids.